Websites While U Wait is now offering FREE consultations for your business regarding websites, social media, chatbots, apps, and more. We understand that the world of digital marketing is overwhelming, which is why once per week, we're sitting down with Albany business owners and entrepreneurs to help you make sense of it all. Call, email, or simply walk in! Don't forget to follow us here on Facebook for updates.

Looking for professional photography or videography content for your social channels and website? Utilizing our two models, we are able to capture and record footage for your product around Brooklyn and Manhattan. Not to mention, we have a growing influencer database with every kind of brand partnership available.

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Virtual Reality (VR) is all the rage today. Engineers are gearing up for what is going to undoubtedly be the next hottest thing for a decade or so, and Facebook wants to, of course, be part of the hype. As the home to over 25 million 360-degree photos and close to 1 million immersive videos, Facebook has decided they want users to be able to experience this content from a VR perspective.

To make it possible, Facebook got fancy and released an app last week, Facebook 360, that is compatible with strictly Samsung Gear VR and other Gear VR-related goggles. Though it doesn’t resemble the normal Facebook app, Facebook 360 still provides users with the ability to “react” to the content, as well as share it to their Facebook 360 timelines.

Facebook 360 has four separate feeds at users fingertips: content from followed friends, saved content, an explore feed for finding new content, and a timeline option that strictly displays your own personal 360 content.

Facebook, this week, stated that they hope to bring Facebook 360 to additional headsets in the future. They plan to add more social features and improve upon the app experience every week until it wields the same power the main platform has today.

Are you interested in VR developments and industry announcements? Stay tuned right here with us. We’ll keep you updated.

You’ve probably received at least 10 annoying “Live” notifications from both Facebook and Instagram this week. Social media platforms are so high on Live Videoing right now… it’s kind of overwhelming. There’s a reason they’re obsessing over the hottest interactive fad in the game today – they know it’s what people want to see.

Video Marketing, both regular and Live, is an inexpensive way for your business to outshine the competition today. All you need is a camera or Smartphone, a creative idea, and a little encouragement to get in front of your business followers. The results can be big enough to compete with even the most known brands in the world. One “viral” video can take your small business to national status, and it really is as easy as that.

Though most people are camera shy, here are a few benefits of getting past your fear and pulling that camera out:

1. Showcase your services

2. Answer customer questions

3. Engage followers in contests

4. Ask for customer feedback

5. Introduce office staff

6. Give office tours

7. Read client testimonials

…And the list goes on. Video is an incredibly ingenious and affordable avenue to demonstrate your product or service for followers in an easy-to-understand way. Plus, with video, customers will have an authentic connection with you and your brand, making them more likely to purchase from you down the road.

The ultimate takeaway here is: don’t be shy! Even if you botch your first Live Videos, they’re going to garner way more traction and attention than sharing an article to your business page. People are fascinated with video – especially Live Video – so give the people what they want.

Companies and entrepreneurs get obsessive with the official rollout of their first website – but, after a year or two, fail to reflect on its layout, design, and content for a much-needed update. Chances are, it was stressful and expensive enough to get the thing completed. Having to tend to it every single year just doesn’t seem feasible.

Though web design and development can be a total nightmare for many business entities, here are 5 reasons why you need to update your website regularly, despite your distaste for it.

1. Visual Appeal

When people visit your site, they’re immediately presented with a reflection of your organization. The first thing they’re going to notice is pictures, colors, and the overall aesthetic. The standard for visual appeal changes rapidly today. After one year, your site will definitely need to adhere to the present aesthetic standards.

2. Content

Industries are constantly changing and new services are always being created and developed. In order to stay competitive, you need to be offering what your competitors are offering. That starts with the right written content conveying your repertoire to your potential clients.

3. Mobile Friendly

If your website isn’t optimized for mobile usage yet – it needs to be ASAP. More people peruse the Internet from their phones than from laptops today. If your website doesn’t look good on a phone, you can bet the user will close it out immediately.

4. Coding

Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc. are always changing their search engine rankings and programmed algorithms. What once contributed to good SEO may not get the job done anymore. Stay current with tagging and coding that’ll help your company ranking.

5. Photography

Stock photos used to be “somewhat” acceptable on websites when they were still new. Today, everyone has a website, and everyone has seen those same 5 stock photos so many times that they can’t stand it anymore. You really want to consider incorporating original photography. It’ll not only make your platform look professional, it will also make it unique.

Is it time for you to update your website? Trust us, we know it’s a pain, but be nice to your brand and give it the regular web update it deserves.

LinkedIn is by far the most misunderstood social media platform in the game today. Though people understand it is a place to professionally connect with colleagues and employers, they fail to explore its lead-generating resources and tools available for growing a client base.

Simply put: LinkedIn doesn’t get the love it deserves.

We’re here to explain why you should love LinkedIn, and we’re going to start by providing 3 easy steps to start generating leads for your business:

1. Article Publishing

Nothing legitimizes your expertise in a specific field more than publishing a free article for reading. Most people don’t realize that LinkedIn has its own blog feature built into the platform, enabling you to publish articles that are then shared with your entire network. And since LinkedIn is considered the serious and professional place to interact with people, your articles are going to be read at a much higher rate than they are on more “fun” platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

2. Group Involvement

Be honest, did you even know you could join groups on LinkedIn? There are tens of millions of highly active groups on LinkedIn at this very second interacting, networking, and scoring clients. All you have to do is request to join a group, and once approved, start posting whatever content you want while communicating with other group members. This is a great place to connect with fellow industry professionals, or to immerse yourself in ideal client pools and start sourcing your leads list.

3. Individual Celebration

Sure, Facebook is full of clicking the Like or Love button to win over other’s favor when they post the typical “look at me” photos and paragraphs. But, on LinkedIn, it’s actually constructive to take time to celebrate others. To show the love on LinkedIn, it’s done via recommendations, reviews, and skill endorsements. So, if you’re chasing down a lead and want to get them to consider you more carefully, go over to their profile and endorse their skills while writing them a heartfelt review. It’s impossible not to love you after that.

Feel a little less scared of LinkedIn? Though it has a serious tone to it, LinkedIn can take your business and build it a steady stream of leads with just 20 minutes of activity every day.

It seemed like a fantasy of the future not too long ago when cartoons and TV shows poked fun at using robots for daily human support. There was Karen, Plankton’s computer wife on Spongebob, the Jetsons, My Life As A Teenage Robot, and so many others throughout the last 30 years. Though we don’t quite have teenager robots floating around our streets yet, we do have the creation of chatbots for human-to-robot conversational interaction on a business or brand’s behalf.

What is a chatbot?

A chatbot is an artificial intelligence system that interacts with humans over an Internet-based text chat. The interactions can be straightforward, like placing a pizza delivery order, or they can be complex, like troubleshooting a problem with Internet service. The one-on-one business-to-consumer interaction potential just got a whole lot bigger with the implementation of these conversational bots.

Here are 3 reasons why your business needs a chatbot NOW:

1. Scalability

Up until now, humans were tasked with answering business questions and inquiries. That means only a certain volume of questions could be answered every single hour. With a robot, an infinite amount of questions can be fielded and answered in a single second, with perfect, preprogrammed accuracy. Wow.

2. Engagement

Social media may be to blame for this one. Consumers are spoiled today. They’re used to a steady stream of optimized content, persuading them to make purchases. They’re used to direct contact with businesses through social media profiles. Therefore, they expect this kind of engagement on apps and websites. Chatbots are the perfect way to provide them with personalized, instant engagement as often as they want it.

3. Millennials

Whether this word makes you laugh or cringe, millennials are the most powerful consumer group in the world today. How they go about acquiring their purchases is kind of important. It’s no secret that millennials prefer text chats to any other kind of consumer support (we’re looking at you, smartphones). By having a chatbot, you’ll be catering to the most active consumers in the game today.

Still not totally clear on what a chatbot is? Fear not, we do offer comprehensive informational classes in which we teach you about chatbots, how to create them, and how to anticipate questions for your bot to answer. Check out our new teaching branch: http://socialmeuniversity.com/.